Voice and speech characteristics and vocal hygiene in novice and professional broadcast journalists

Perceptual and Acoustic Analyses of Good Voice Quality in Male Radio Performers

“…3,13,22 Professional voiceover artists were accurately differentiated from controls by naive listeners, 22 and listeners with speech pathology backgrounds perceived professional newsreaders to have better voice quality, style of newsreading, continuity, phrasing, and emphasis than controls. 13 These perceptual differences were also reflected in some acoustic measures, such as greater standard deviation of fundamental frequency, 13 greater pause time distribution, 22 and greater low-frequency spectral gain. 3 Despite these group differences between professional broadcasters and controls, research to date has been limited by the use of speech pathology students or voice trainers as listeners (eg, Refs.…”

“…These include "pleasant voice," 19 "well-defined articulation/diction," 19,20 conversational delivery style, 21 and good use of "timing" and "pause." 21 Given that some of these features may not be present in the voices of vocally healthy controls, 13,22 most radio performers may be considered as supranormal (better-than-normal) voice users. 11 Although radio employers and educators usually control the occupational parameters for radio performers, radio listeners are the performers' intended audience and have assumed significance in the performers' continuing employment.…”

“…13,29 ), definitions of voice quality that include disordered features (eg, Ref. 13 ), and perceptual constructs that lacked experimental validation (eg, "firmness" in Ref. 29 ).…”

“…Good or supranormal speaking voices have been evaluated using many descriptors, such as "projected," 10 "sonority," "variable in loudness," and "ringing voice quality," 11,12 as well as "continuity" and "emphasis." 13 In addition, definitions and listener judgments of good voice quality may vary in different situations and occupations, presumably because of differing voice requirements. For example, various demands are placed on actors' voice quality, projection, range, stamina, and variability depending on the role or production.…”

“…3 Despite these group differences between professional broadcasters and controls, research to date has been limited by the use of speech pathology students or voice trainers as listeners (eg, Refs. 13,29 ), definitions of voice quality that include disordered features (eg, Ref. 13 ), and perceptual constructs that lacked experimental validation (eg, "firmness" in Ref.…”